Overview
The Compliance Assurance Process (CAP) which started as a pilot program in 2005 and became permanent in 2011 employs real-time issue resolution to improve federal tax compliance. The IRS and the taxpayers work together to achieve federal tax compliance by resolving issues prior to the filing of a tax return. Successful conclusion of CAP allows the IRS to achieve an acceptable level of assurance regarding the accuracy of the taxpayer’s filed tax return and to substantially shorten the length of the post filing examination.
In August 2016, the IRS announced that it was evaluating the CAP program to determine if it was aligned with LB&I’s strategic vision given the challenging environment of limited resources and budget constraints and that no new taxpayer applications would be accepted for the 2017 and subsequent CAP years.
On August 28, 2018, the IRS announced the changes to its recalibrated CAP program for the 2019 CAP year and changes that are planned for subsequent years.
If you have any questions or comments regarding the contents of this page or the revised CAP program, please submit them to the CAP program mailbox (lbi.irs.cap.program@IRS.gov).
2019 CAP Application and Related Documents
- CAP Research Credit Questionnaire (CRCQ) (PDF)
- Material Intercompany Transactions Template (MITT) (PDF)
- Material Intercompany Transactions Template (MITT) Instructions (PDF)
- Taxpayer Initial Issues List (PDF)
Recalibrated CAP Information Resources
- CAP Recalibration Discussion Document (PDF) – September 28, 2018
- MITT and Other CAP Recalibration Frequently Asked Questions
Pre-2019 CAP Application and Related Documents
- Pre-CAP and CAP Application (PDF)
- Pre-CAP Memorandum of Understanding (PDF)
- CAP Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) (PDF)